CABALL review by JeminiJess

22/05/2024

"Human memory, akin to human perception, is a fragile and impermanent thing. To distort it is a mere trifle, accessible even to those uninitiated to the occult."


Plot Synopsis
Veronica writes the scripts for Snezhana, a local fortune teller, on exactly what to do and say during her fortune telling. Unfortunately it's been two months since Veronica has been paid and Snezhana hasn't read her texts about getting the payment she's due. One morning Veronica goes to Snehana's office to try and get her paycheck.
Instead of finding Snezhana, she finds Lynn, someone who also works for Snezhana. Not long after, Amalia, a fan of Snezhana, also shows up. Lynn then hands each of them a letter from the fortune teller. In Veronica's letter, it tells her to find a lipstick that is the same color as the green beads that came with her letter. As the player, you can decide to follow Lynn's advice to search the office for the lipstick, or follow Amalia's suggestion to make the lipstick. After either finding the lipstick or making it, Lynn tells them to meet them at an address the next day to deliver the lipstick to Snezhana.

The next day the three meet up outside an apartment complex. Upon going inside and to the correct door, a strange person in a mask and robe answers and lets them in. It is here we meet Caball. It is not her name, but more of a title. Veronica calls them demons, although they state that they are not. Caball has gray skin, golden eyes, and horn-looking things protruding from her head (honestly reminds me a bit of Homestuck characters). Veronica hands the lipstick over to her and some chaos begins to ensue. Depending on one of your choices, you go down one of three routes. You either make it out of the apartment with Lynn, Amalia, or on your own.

Each one follows a bit of a similar story in that you're looking for Snezhana while learning a bit more about the companion you're with. If you make it out of the apartment alone, you team up with one of the "demons" named Gaspar, who serves under Caball.

About

Caball is a short game. In total there are 7 different endings. Each route has 2 endings each, except for Amalia, who has 3. There are also a handful of CG's as well, although for some reason not all of them show up in the gallery. Some of the CG's also feel like they are a bit differently drawn, especially compared to the sprites. I assume this is because there are two different people who worked on the graphics and they have slightly different styles of drawing and split up the CG's they did.

Graphics and Sounds
I personally really enjoyed the art of the game. The sprites are well drawn and for the most part the CG's are drawn exceptionally well. I have a few favorites. Some of the CG's even have moving parts, like eyes opening and closing, and a little glitch effect. I have nothing to say in particular about the background art. It does its job to serve as the environment and fits the scenes. None stand out in particular. Some use 3D art assets that you might see in some Webtoons (for those familiar), which there's nothing wrong with. Veronica really likes one plant in particular, as she owns it 4 times. The OST fits the setting for the game well and helps bring in the creepy and mysterious atmosphere that our protagonist and company find themselves in.

Thoughts
The game really falls into the mystery genre. It feels like the player does not get a full picture of some of the plot points unless they play all the endings. And even then, there are some mysteries still left unanswered, which is a bit unfortunate. The characters are all different and unique, and have their own goals. They are all certainly a bit messed up in their own ways though.

I wish we learned more about Lynn and what he did exactly for Snezhana and why he seems to have such an obsession with weapons. In a similar case with Amalia, it would be nice to learn more about why she seemed to be so obsessed with Snezhana and the occult. There are points in the game that characters point out that Snezhana talked a lot about Veronica and even considered her like a daughter, but none of this was really talked about in detail or ever gone more in-depth.

Honestly, it feels like this was never really answered and is still left up in the air. I think it's kind of hinted at. A

We barely learn anything about Snezhana or Caball and I feel like we only scratched the surface on Gaspar, Lynn, and Amalia. There is a hidden character as well that we learn basically nothing about too. The game could use more fleshing out, but it is still a very enjoyable experience.
There were a few errors that I noticed, but not too many overall. At times it feels like the writing or translation is a bit stiff and odd from an English reader's standpoint (especially Veronica's words of "welp" and "shucks" just felt out of place), but overall the reading experience and translation seemed alright.
I'm not sure if it is intended, but the changing between the characters saying Snezhana and Snezha was constant and it felt like it wasn't very consistent. It was difficult to tell if that was done on purpose or was a mistake. It also mentioned that it was Summer in the game, but it goes back and forth between saying it's freezing and then also that it's hot, so I'm not really sure if I'm missing something or if there is a mistake in the writing.

Overall
I hope that we get to see more of these characters and this world in the future. I'm quite literally dying for more. If I don't get more, Lynn may need to snap my neck. Don't understand why I'd say that? Play the game.
I had so much fun playing this game. It was over way too soon. I'd like to know more about Veronica, where she got her earrings, how she met Snezhana and her background too. It'd also be neat to see some more romance. There were certainly hints of it, but not enough was there. Although I'm sure the game was focusing more on the mystery and horror than any romance. I just want to romance Gaspar…and maybe too (and to learn more about this "secret" character as well).


I feel quite miffed that Amalia was also the only one to get a kiss CG. Like at least give the others the same level of detail. That's one of the worst things you can do in a game. If you're going to give one character a kiss scene and hint at romance with the others, then you have to give them all kiss scenes and CG's That's probably the only major thing I have issues with. Although I'm happy that at least someone got one and don't mind that it was Amalia.

I need more Gaspar, please. I need more of this game, the story, answers, everything. There's so much more that can be added and I really am hopeful there will be more.

Otome Lovers wishes to thank Levistok for providing a free review copy of this game.

I also made a guide that will help you get all the endings and achievements in the game (although it's a very easy thing to do).

Be sure to check out Otome Lovers other excellent review of this game by Abubis!
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